Typewriting machine



Patented July 22, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF ICE. 7

HARRY 'I. MCBBIEN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIG-NOR TO UNDERWOODTYPEWRIT'ER COMPANY, OF NEW YORKv N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application filed June 28, 1921. Serial No. 480.964.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY T. MCBRIEN, a citizen of the United States,residing in Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Typewrtting lachines, ofwhich the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to means for holding a large stiff card, or thelike, in proper relation at the writing line with the revoluble platenof a front-strike typewriting ma chine, and is herein illustrated asapplied to an Underwood Standard typewriter.

For certain kinds of work, for example, the keeping of savings bankaccounts, it has been customary to use large cards for individualaccounts, each card being introduced into th typewriter each time anentry is to be made thereon, usually only one entry being made for agiven date. The card in each case has usually been introduced at thefront of the platen, while the feed-rolls were released, and brought toproper typing position. The feed-rolls have then been restored and theusual card-guide, pivoted upon the front bar of the typewriter carriage,swung back to hold the card against th platen at the printing line. thestiffness of the cards, each card has neessarily been held against theplaten by some such means as the card-guide, since 7 otherwise the cardwould not lie closely against the platen at the printing line, and,

when struck by a type, would be moved slightly, thereby preventing goodtype impressions. It will be seen that the cardguide must be moved toone side each time a card is to be inserted at the front of the platenand must then be shifted to its effective position before typingon acard. Obviously, the operation of moving the cardguide back and forthinterferes with rapid work.

The main object of the invention is to provide improved card-controllingmeans by which a card in use will be held in proper position against theplaten at the printing line, and which will permit the introduction andarrangement of a card in printing position more rapidly than heretofore,thereby enabling a higher speed of operation. Other objects of theinvention are to'provide card-controlling means simple in form,economical to manufacture, efficient Owing to in operation, readilyapplicable to existing machines, and attractive in appearance.

According to this invention, the use of the aforesaid swingingcard-guide is unnecessary, and the means for holding the card at thedelivery side of the platen is stationary with respect to theplaten-fran1e,thus avoiding any delay which would result if any shiftingof parts were necessary.

In carrying out the invention, provision may be made of a plate orsupport above the platen bent upwardly atone end, preferably at theleft, to form a flange or sideedge gage which may be used in aligning acard with reference to the platen. An arm is bent from the gage at itsupper edge and extends to the right, parallel to the plate, and at itsfree end the arm .isbent downwardly to form a card-holding finger,sufiicient space being left between the finger and the plate to permitthe free introduction-of a card edgewise under the finger and movementof the same along the plate to engage the side-edge gage. Although theform just verging from the side-edge gage to the finger. In order t9make the arm lighter in weight and to enable the surface of the cardlying beneath the same to be seen, the arm may be cut away to as greatan extent as may bepossible without weakening the same sufficiently torender it ineffective.

, A lthough the card-holder may be used in. case a card is insertedatthe rear of. the platen, it is particularly adapted for use with amachine arranged for front insertion of the'cards. In inserting a card,the righthand lower edge may. conveniently be introduced first and thecard advanced until the left-hand edge is substantially in front .of theeard-holdingfinger when the card may be bent to the rear and swung tothe left to carry its left-hand edge between the finger until the parton which the entry is to be conveniently be formed with its sides conlat sired made is positioned at the writing line, which may be determinedby the position of the wing scales. l Vhen the card has been posi-'narrow cards.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, showing the inventionapplied to the platen-frame of an Underwood Standard typewriter.

Figure 2 is a side view, partly in section, of the mechanism shown inFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a rear elevation, showing the means by which the attachmentis supported on the platen-frame.

A platen 11 is mounted on a platen-axle 12, journaled in the, ends 13 ofthe platenframe, said ends being connected by a rear paper-table 1t,which may be of the usual form. The portion of the rear paper-tablelying beneath the platen is cut away to accommodate front feed-rolls 15and rear feed-rolls 16, thus forming fingers 17 which extend upwardly ashort distance at the front of the platen. ing scales 18 are pro- .videdat the front of the platen, and their upperedges 19 are bent outwardly,as shown in the patent to Kunath, No. 817,923, granted April 17, 1906,to facilitate front insertion of cards or the like. The feed-rolls 15and 16 may be cast off by any suitable means, such, for eXam le, asshown in the patent to J-sse A. B. mith, No. 1,378,627, wanted Ma 17,1921.

in ying out the present invention, provision be made of a plate 20,above plateinbent upwardly at its left-hand reform. a flange which mayserve sid. lldge for a card 22 inserted in the machine, From the upperedge of the gage. an arm or guard 23 extends to the ght and providedwith a finger 24 ex- 1 toward the plate 20, but spaced herefromsutliciently to permit the card to be. slidfreely between the finger andthe plate, and the edge of the card brought into en gement with theflange or gage 21. The flange 21. arm 23 and finger 24 may be con nectedwith the plate 29 in any desired manner, but, preferably, are formedfrom an extension of the plate bent into shape as de- It should beunderstood that the spacing. of the finger 24 from the plate is suchthat-no gripping of the work-sheet is effected and that the plate 20serves principally asa support for the gage 21 and arm 23 and as a meansto guide the card under the finger 24 and to the gage21.

The arm 23 is required to be only of suitieient strength to hold theupper part of the card to the rear to insure proper positioning of thesame on the platen, to enable satisfactory typing thereon, and may beshaped and cut away so as to interfere as little possiblewith thereading of printed matter which may be on the portion of the card lyingback of the same. Preferably, the sides of the arm 23 converge as theyextend from the gage, and the material of the arm is cut away as shownin Figure 1.

The plate 20 may be supported in any suitable manner, but, preferably,is supporton. in the same manner as the aligning plate in said Patent,No. 1,378,627. Screws extend through slots 26 in the plate 20 and arethreaded into brackets 27 on the ends of arms 28, mounted on a shaft 29,which 'josrnalcd in brackets 80, secured to the ends of theplaten-frame. it will be seen that. due to the provision of the slots26, the position of the plate 20 relative to the brackets 27 may bevaried. A linger-piece 31, secured to the end of shaft 29, may be usedto ing the plate 29 upwardly when desired, as example, when thecard-holder or attachment is not in use. (lbviously. the cardholder orattachment herein. disclosed may readily be attached to existingmachines.

Each arm 28 comprises a portion 32, bent parallel to the shaft 29, and aportion Pit-3, extending at right angles thereto, through wh ch theshaft passes. It. will be seen that this construction provides a bearingof suitable length for each arm 28. To hold the arms 28 on shaft 29, soas normally to be fixed against rotation with respect thereto, provisionis made of a cylindrical key 34- for each arm, mounted in slots 85 intho portion 33 and the parallel portion of the arm 28 and normallypressed into a groove 26 in the shaft 29 by means of a spring 37supported on the portion of the arm which e tends parallel to the shaftIn like i mer, the shaft 29 may normally be held in the position shownin Figure by means of a cylindrical key 38, supported in slo s in theparallel arms of bracket 39 and pressed into a groove 39 in shaft 29 bymeans of spring 10.

Obviously, the cards may be inserted. over the rear paper-table 1 1 andcarried around the platen to the printing line, where typing may beeffected by means of a typebar 11 swinging upwardly and rearwardly tobring types 42 thereon against the platen, Profen ably, however, thecards are inserted at the front of the platen. In such an operation, thefeed-rolls and 15 are cast off and the lower edge of the card insertedbetween the platen and the forwardly-inclined edges 19 of the wingscales 18 which guide the card into the throat or opening between theplaten and the fingers 17 which are flared ontwardl to facilitate theintroduction of l further insertion of the card arrying its lower edgeto a position over the r paper-table 14, as shown in Figure llhen thecard 22 has been partly inserted, the upper part thereof is swung to therear, and the left edge of the card passed between the finger and theplate 20. The card is then moved to the left to bring its left-hand edgeagainst the gage 21 and the portion of the card on which typing is to beeffected brought to the writing line by positioning the card with.reference to the. upper ed es of the wing scales 18. In making such aninsertion, the card may be held diagonally, so that the lower right-handcorner is introduced first. In that case, the movement of the cardbehind the finger 24 and into engagement withthe gage 2]. involves aswinging movement of the upper end of the card rather than a sidewisemovement of the card as a whole. The feed-rol s wand 1d are thenreturnedto the positions in which they co-operate with the platen, andtyping is effected in the usual manner by means of ype-bars 4:1 andtypes 4-2.

Usually, only a single entry is made at.

each insertion. As soon, therefore, as the entry of an item has beencompleted, the feed-rolls 15 and 16 are again cast off and the card 22drawn out of the front of the machine; Another card may then be insert-.ed, and, after achustment by means of the side gage 21 and the wingscales 18, securely held against the platen by returning thefeed-rolls15 and 16 to thelr normal effective positions. It will beevident that cards mav be inserted and removed with-very little de lay,inasmuch as either insertion removal may be effected substantially by asingle movement of the card, the castingott' of the feed-rolls and/theirrelease beingthe only changes in the mechanism in connection with suchinsertion and removal. y

In using different sizes of cards, it may occur that the finger 24 ofthe attachment will engage the card atone side of the ecutral linethereof. This condition will. result in a tendency of the card to twistand to slip from the control of the finger. 3" The plate 20, however,engages the rearface of the card and, by preventing abackwaro movementof the card at either side of the finger 24, prevents such a twistingmovement and consequent release of the card. It should be understoodthat the card-holder of this invention may be used to the best advantagewith comparatively narrow cards.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, andportions of the improvements may be used without others. Having thusdescribed my invention, I claim:

1. In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, anda card-contro n device mounted above the platen 2. In a frontstril;etypewriting machine,

in combination, a platen, feeding devices cooperating with the platen,and a card-holder to hold against the platen, at the printing line, acard inserted between the feeding devices and the platen, saidcardholder comprising a plate, positioned above the platen, an end gagebent up therefrom at one end, an arm bent over from saidgage to extendparallel to the plate, and diminishing in width as it extends from saidgage, said arm being cut away, centrally thereof, to expose as much aspossible of a cardpositioned thereunder without too great weakeningofvthe arm, and a finger extending inwardly from the end of said arm toengage the outer face of the card, but spaced fron' said plate to enablethe insertion of the side edge of the card without interfer ence. v i

3. In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen,feeding devices co-operating with the lower part of said platen andadapted for the front insertion of a card, and card-holding meanscompris ing a side-edge gage positioned above the platen foruse inadjusting the upper part of an inserted card when the latter isbentrearwardly from the plane of front insertion, a finger back of which thecard may be moved in bringing the same into engagement with theside-edge gage, said linger being so positioned that the card, when ovedto the rear thereof, will be held thereby against the platen at theprinting line, and a support extending transversely of the machine toengage the rear face of plate extending longitudinally of the platen, aside-edge gage extending upwardly therefrom, and an arm projecting fromsaid side-edge gage parallel to the plate and having a finger extendingtoward the plate but spaced therefrom to permit ready insertion of thecard therebehind and acting to hold the card against the platenat theprinting line while held between said.

platen and the feeding devices, and a mount ing for saidcard-controlling device whereby the latter may be shifted as a wholefrom effective to ineliective position, and vice versa.

5. In a front-stril'ce type-writing machine, in combination, a platen, arear paper-table having fingers extending beneath the platen, releasablefeed-rolls positioned to co-operate with the platen in the openingsbetween said fingers, wing-scalesbent outwardly at their upper edges tofacilitate front insertion, and a card-controlling device comprising aside-edge gage, and means to hold the upper end of an inserted card in arearward positi'on to cause proper positioning of the card on the platenat the printing line comprising an arm extending from said gage paral'lel to the platen-axis, so that its end will engage the front face ofthe card at a substantial distance from said side-edge gage.

6. In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, aplaten-frame, feeding devices co-operating with the lower part of theplaten and adapted for the front insertion of a card, and acard-controlling device above the platen comprising a plateextendinglongitudinally of the platen, a side-edge gage extendingupwardly from the plate, near one end of the platen-frame, and an armextending from the upper part of said gage parallel to said plate towardthe middle of the platen frame, whereby a narrow card inserteddiagonally at the front of the platen with its upper end inclined awayfrom said sideedge gage maye be bent .rearwardly above the platen andswung sidewise between the plate and the arm into cont-act with saidside-edge gage.

7 In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, aplaten-frame, feeding devices co-operating with the lower part of theplaten and adapted for the front insertion of a card, and a card-holdingdevice above the platen comprising a plate extending longitudinally ofthe platen, a side-edge gage extending upwardly from the plate, near oneend of the platen-frame, an arm extending from the upper part of saidgage parallel to said plate toward the middle of the platen-frame, and afinger extending inwardly from the end of the arm and spaced from saidplate sufficiently to permit edge insertion of the card withoutinterference therewith, whereby a narrow card inserted diagonally at thefront of the platen with its upper end inclined away from said side-edgegage may be bent rearwardly above the platen and swung side-- wisebetween the plate and the arm into contact with said side-edge gage.

8. In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, aplaten-frame, feedin devices co-operating with the lower part of theplaten and adapted for the front insertion of a card, a card-controllingdevice above the platen comprising a plate extending longitudinally of,and normally tangentially to, the platen, a side-edge extending upwardlyfrom the plate, near one end of the platen-frame, an arm extending fromthe upper part of said gage parallel to said plate toward the middle ofthe platen-frame, and a finger extending inwardly from the end of thearm and spaced from said plate sufficiently to permit edge insertion ofthe card without inter ference therewith, whereby a narrow card inserteddiagonally at the front of the platen with its upper end inclined awayfrom said side-edge gage may be bent rearwardly above the platen andswung sidewise between the plate and the arm into contact with saidside-edge gage, and a mounting for said card-controlling device wherebythe latter may be shifted as a whole from normal or effective toineffective position, and vice versa.

9. In a front-strike typewriting machine, in combination, a platen,card-guiding means for facilitating the front insertion of a card bottomforemost, and a card controlling device above the front of the platencomprising a side-edge gage and an arm arranged to engage the outer faceof the inserted card positioned against the side-edge gage so as to holdthe same against the platen at the printing line while various lines arebeing written upon the card,

HARRY T. MOBRIEN. Witnesses:

K. E. Mme,

H. B. DE RENeo,

